It's a long time from conviction to death

For those who oppose the death penalty, it is interesting to note that the total number of executed criminals in the United States has increased from 21 in 1984 to 60 in 2005. Moreover, the length of time from conviction to final resolution through direct appeal has increased from 51 months in 1984 to 147 months in 2005. Unlike what I have heard in the mainstream media, however, is the news that the majority of executions include white people. Of course, that fact does not mitigate the issue of wrongful execution based upon shoddy or faked evidence. I am glad that many law schools have innocence projects that identify wrongfully convicted prisoners and strive to get those prisoners released upon new and accurate DNA evidence.